1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cargo and luggage carriers and their attachment to vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to carriers which are shiftably attachable to standard trailer hitches for rearward movement away from rear closure structures of vehicles.
2. Description of Prior Art
When traveling in a single family passenger vehicle, whether going to the airport, taking a day trip to the bike trails, or heading for the ski slops, there seldom seems to be enough space for luggage and other necessary equipment. To provide extra cargo space, many types of carriers including trailers and car top carriers have been developed. Car top carriers operate like sails reducing gas mileage and decreasing vehicle control. Trailers decrease vehicle control and, for the average driver, trailers substantially limit vehicle maneuverability. Limited maneuverability is most prominent when backing up.
Another type of carrier, a hitch carrier, attaches to a standard trailer hitch and is suspended by the hitch above the road surface. The hitch carrier is held behind the vehicle and therefore does not appreciably reduce gas mileage, and the hitch carrier is suspended above the road surface without wheels and therefore does not appreciably limit maneuverability. Even when backing up, the hitch carrier merely extends the length of the vehicle.
One disadvantage encountered is that the hitch carrier blocks the rear entrance of the vehicle. This is solved by shiftably attaching the carrier to the trailer hitch, so that the carrier is movable to a remote position which does not obstruct the closure structure of the vehicle rear entrance. However, shiftably attaching the carriers presents other problems such as noise from rattling parts, dangerous moving components which can come apart or trap fingers, and lack of stability in both a traveling position and in the remote position.
Further, hitch carriers are not well adapted to carry all equipment. While, for example, most camping equipment will fit inside the storage area of hitch carriers, larger or odd shaped items, such as skies and bikes for example, cannot be carried by currently available hitch carriers. Sometimes, even the additional space provided by the hitch carrier is still not enough leaving people in a quandary trying to decide what vital equipment must stay behind.